YouTube is accused of collecting data of kids under 13, company faces hefty fine

YouTube is accused in the United Kingdom (UK) of illegally collecting data of children under 13 years old. If the charge is proven, the company faces a fine of 4% of annual revenue.

As Bloomberg reports, the complaint was filed by the charity group 5Rights and a man named Duncan McCann, who is the father of three children. The lawsuit alleges that YouTube's web version violates the UK's child protection law, which came into effect in 2020.

The accusation

According to the lawsuit, YouTube violates the law on at least three counts: video hosting collects data about children's location, their preferences, as well as data about what children watch on YouTube.

Duncan McCain said many children watch YouTube content on family devices where this data can be collected by default because they are not registered as a child account.

"My preferred reform that YouTube should make is that actually when you enter YouTube, they don’t collect any unnecessary and process any unnecessary information," McCain said.

The UK's Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has already launched an investigation into YouTube's illegal collection of children's data.

“As a regulator we expect children’s data to be protected online. If that’s not the case, we’ll take action," said Stephen Bonner, deputy head of the ICO.

YouTube's response

YouTube has repeatedly said that its service is not intended for use by children under the age of 13. The company has a separate children's app for this, the YouTube Kids, which requires parental consent to use.

As reported by the BBC, YouTube responded by saying that they are doing everything for the protection of children.

"We remain committed to continuing our engagement with the ICO on this priority work, and with other key stakeholders including children, parents and child-protection experts," YouTube said.

If YouTube is found guilty of illegally collecting children's data, the company faces a fine of 4% of annual revenue. YouTube's revenue in 2022 was $282 billion, and 4% of it is about $11.2 billion.

In 2019, the US regulator fined YouTube $170 million for violating children's privacy laws.

Another lawsuit was filed against the company after that, alleging that the service collects data on children under 13 without parental consent. YouTube did not admit fault at the time, but paid the fine and has since changed its business practices.